Shariyat courts have no legal sanctity, says SC

The Supreme Court Monday held the Shariyat courts that dispense justice among Muslim community members have no legal sanctity and at times their order infringes the fundamental rights of the people.

The apex court bench headed by Justice C.K. Prasad said that religious courts cannot pass an order that infringes on the fundamental rights of a person or of an affected person on a plea by a third person.

The court said the Shariyat courts can only pass edicts and only when an affected person approaches it.

The court said this while disposing of a petition that sought to put a cap on Shariyat courts, saying that they were functioning as parallel to the country’s judicial system.